Playoffs feature surprise teams
Matt Holliday and the streaking Colorado Rockies are in – from out of nowhere. With all four playoff pairings finally set, now it’s on with October.
A postseason full of surprising entries starts this afternoon in Philadelphia, where the National League East champions host Colorado in the first playoff game for the Fightin’ Phils since 1993.
A few hours later, the first American League division series gets underway with Josh Beckett and the Boston Red Sox hosting John Lackey and the Los Angeles Angels at Fenway Park in a matchup of Cy Young contenders.
The final game of the day is a desert duel between aces out in Arizona, where sinkerball specialist Brandon Webb opposes Carlos Zambrano of the Chicago Cubs.
“I don’t want to be pumped up,” said Zambrano, prone to emotional outbursts. “I just want to be calm and let the moment come, let the game come and pitch my game. I don’t want to be too excited. Sometimes when you are too excited, you’re trying to do too much, that’s when the problem comes, when you don’t have control of yourself.”
The other best-of-5 series starts Thursday night when the wild-card New York Yankees are in Cleveland to face C.C. Sabathia and the Indians. All eyes will be on Alex Rodriguez to see if he can put an end to his playoff failures after a huge regular season.
“Don’t ask him about it,” teammate Derek Jeter told the assembled media mob at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday. “Just leave him alone and let him play.”
The young Rockies came from way off the pace, going 14-1 down the stretch and rallying against career saves leader Trevor Hoffman in the bottom of the 13th inning to beat San Diego 9-8 late Monday night in a wild-card tiebreaker.
Many who stayed awake long enough to see it are still wondering if Holliday touched the plate on that headfirst dive for the winning run. No matter, the call was safe.
Now, a team known as Todd Helton and the Toddlers not long ago is all grown up and on the big stage. Their matchup with the Phillies could be an all-out slugfest.
The two highest-scoring teams in the National League will be taking their hacks in two of the most hitter-friendly ballparks in baseball: Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park and Coors Field in Colorado.
“Regardless of where you play, you still have to get it and hit it,” said Phillies bopper Ryan Howard, last year’s N.L. Most Valuable Player.
Pitchers, beware.
Especially Jeff Francis, Colorado’s top starter. The 17-game winner was tattooed in two starts against the Phillies this year, going 0-1 with a 15.12 ERA. He allowed 14 earned runs, 20 hits and five walks in 8 1/3 innings.
He’ll pitch the opener against fellow lefty Cole Hamels. The series also pits two of the top candidates for N.L. MVP: Holliday and Philadelphia shortstop Jimmy Rollins.